April 24, 2012

It's spring in Chicago, which means wet things no longer freeze outside and the sun actually shines. So I tried another project with Inkodye, the photosensitive dye tested in a few projects last year. I'd received samples from the manufacturer to play with, and I've been curious about using paper doilies as stencils.

I taped a piece of white cotton canvas to cardboard wrapped in plastic. With a sponge brush, I applied red-orange dye. (Fabric really soaks this stuff up, so this required over half a bottle.) Update: I've learned that using a 1:1 ratio of dye to water works just as well!

Next I arranged paper doilies on top. As I suspected, the doilies started to curl when they absorbed a little moisture from the wet dye, so I quickly poked some straight pins into them to hold down the edges. Then I placed the board in direct sunlight on our back landing and hoped our neighbors wouldn't step on it as they came down the stairs.

Ten minutes later, I removed the doiles and scrubbed the fabric in soapy water.

The white blotches are where the dye soaked into the doilies and they stuck to the fabric. A little bit unfortunate.

On the other hand, I suppose you could argue this looks like some sort of faded, distressed antique — a tea towel discovered in a French flea market, maybe. And since my decorating style is supposedly "Country French," along with 89% of you, we should appreciate this, right? I give it a B-. But it was fun.

It seems like the white spots are similar to what is described in the Dry-Erase Doodle pillow tutorial:"Collect the excess Inkodye on your canvas by wiping it with a paper towel. This step is necessary because you'll be covering the canvas with glass and excess dye can turn into condensation that can make your print spotty. You just want your piece to be a little damp to the touch, so don't be afraid to really wipe hard." http://lumi.co/blogs/projects/3788142-dry-erase-doodle-pillow

It´s lovely! My tip is to place a glass sheet on top. It holds the pattern in place and allows the sun to develop the ink. I´ve tried and it works, BUT it can make the ink stick to the glass and give you a bit of "marble" effect.

I really like this. I also really admire you for not only making your own fabric but then upholstering it on a chair! I can barely find time to sew anything but of course that's probably because I'm scared to fail, so I just procrastinate and then I never start anything. Hmmpph.

love this! i'm curious about two things: first, how permanent is the dye? can you wash it if you use in on clothing? second, do you know how light-fast is it? as in if you place that chair in the sunlight, does it fade? thank you!

Yep, you can wash it. I washed a project in the washing machine before, and it faded maybe a tiny bit but not badly. As for lightfastness, not sure. I haven't left anything in the sun for days or weeks.

I have done a lot of work with Cyanotype (a similar dying technique using chemicals), I reccommend printing black silhouettes onto acetate and using these; they give a very defined print and open up lots of possibilities for images.

Ok, not sure if my comment "took"!! do you know if theis will be colorfast? I'd like to try something like this for dress fabric for my two granddaughters. I think this design too would look absolutely great on dresses for a 10 month old and a 1 year old!! Thanks